Jonathan Kent's production of Puccini's Tosca returns to the Royal Opera House later this Season.

'Audiences leaving Tosca should feel a sense of waste,' says the director of the passionate and political thriller. 'It's impossible not to feel sympathy for Tosca, and a sense of admiration, as we watch what appears to be a fairly superficial woman become a woman of real distinction and real courage.

'Tosca has a wonderful narrative with three great and fascinating characters at its heart.'

'I think Puccini's music is some of the most evocative and emotional of the operatic repertoire. Of course the music is the thing that draws you in but his genius is that the music and the drama of the piece are integrated. The way he advances narrative through music is fascinating.'

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